FBI: Region should not tolerate any amount of public corruption
NWI Times
Updated Dec 1, 2017
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/fbi-region-should-not-tolerate-any-amount-of-public-corruption/article_bfdef6fd-f5ab-5b04-b912-26b91a857ac1.html
HAMMOND — Public corruption undermines the fabric of American society and is among the FBI's highest priorities, said W. Jay Abbott, the FBI's special agent in charge for Indiana.
Abbott made the comments during a forum Thursday about the FBI's role in Northwest Indiana.
Nearly 50 local politicians have been sent to prison in the past decade, according to a slide presented by Bill Rowell, supervisory special agent for the white collar crime and public corruption unit at the FBI's Merrillville office.
As he stood before a slide showing news stories and photographs of public officials, Rowell said the Region's history shocked him when he arrived here six years ago.
"The extent of the public corruption, how long it had been going on, how in-depth it was," Rowell said. "And how it seemed like over a 40-, 50-, 60-year period, as I look back over the history of things, the same things were being done over and over and over again."
Under his watch, a public corruption task force that includes other federal agencies, state agencies and the federal prosecutor's office was established, he said.
'Nothing was accidental'
"Every single one of these people — none of them just slightly stepped over a line. None of them were in a gray area, none of them made a mistake, nothing was accidental," Rowell said.
Each convicted official "did everything they could ... to put money in their pocket," he said.
Rowell said residents should do more to hold other politicians who support their convicted colleagues accountable.
"I've noticed in some of these cases that happened before I got here, after there was a grand jury that indicted the politician, and after they went through a trial in the courthouse up in Hammond and different juries convicted them, and after they were sentenced by a judge — no question at all about what they did — there were still other politicians in the area who were bold enough to support the convicted politicians in spite of the wrong that had been done, in spite of the broken public trust," he said.
Sitting politicians may try to argue that everyone does it, that it's always been done or that it's just how it is, Rowell said.
"There's thousands of excuses. None of them fly, and the more that the citizens of Lake County — or whatever county this happens in — the more those citizens hold those politicians' feet to the fire, whether they've already been convicted or there are other sitting politicians who are supporting these guys, the more their feet are held to the fire, I think the more it's going to push things in the direction that all the citizens want this community to go."
When asked about payments to an informant who testified against former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich, agents said they were worth it.
"Any amount of money could almost be justified if there is a citizen that is willing to work with us to expose that type of corruption," Abbot said. "Public corruption is the highest criminal priority that the FBI has, and there's a reason for that."
Rowell said the informant — a police-officer-turned-tow-truck driver — came forward because he couldn't believe the blatant public corruption he was seeing.
Evidence at trial is that the FBI paid Scott Jurgensen $130,000 over a five-year period, and his testimony has resulted in multiple indictments.
"What you hear at trial is the tip of the iceberg," Rowell said.
Prosecutors decide before trial which charges to press, but they typically have much more information they can present at sentencing, he said.
"It's called relevant conduct," he said.
FBI has many roles in the Region
The FBI investigates about 350 types of crimes in Indiana, Abbott said.
Chris Ormerod, supervisory special agent for the Merrillville office's new counter-terrorism unit, was on the job just two weeks when a pipe bomb exploded Sept. 6 at the East Chicago post office, injuring a pregnant postal worker.
"Most people don't know that this is domestic terrorism," Ormerod said. "It is."
The bomb likely caused others to fear what might be in their mail, he said.
Bob Ramsey, special supervisory agent for the Merrillville office's violent crimes unit, offered an overview of four racketeering and gang cases his unit has investigated in recent years.
More than 100 indictments have been handed down in four separate cases against the Latin Kings, Imperial Gangsters and Two Six Nation street gangs, Ramsey said.
When asked if breaking up gangs could cause more violence, as smaller groups vie for power, Abbott said the FBI has taken notice of the issue and is working to develop strategies to address it.
Ramsey said Gary city officials have seen some success with the Gary for Life initiative, which integrates law enforcement efforts with a range of other programs to offer assistance and address community issues.
No comments:
Post a Comment